Harrogate Circle celebrated the festive season with their highly popular and very enjoyable Carol Evening and Christmas Dinner at The St Roberts Club in Harrogate.
The evening was beautifully compared by Bro. Denis Connery, accompanied by John Ibison on keyboards, who also put together a challenging, but entertaining festive quiz.
Bro. President, Chris Bohills, entered the festive spirit as well, by regaling us with some very amusing Christmas Cracker jokes.
As usual, there was a very successful raffle, the proceeds of which will be added to the growing total going to Bro. Presidents charity for the year, Catholic Care.
Circa 70 Harrogate Brothers, their ladies, friends and parishioners from around the Deanery enjoyed a wonderful evening of opera, orchestrated by Harrogate’s own, very talented, Bro. Tom Kowalski.
The setting was Al Bivio’s restaurant, which we virtually took over and enjoyed an authentic four course Italian meal, with music to stir the soul between each course. As Bro. President Chris put it, Tom and his colleagues have arranged a programme to quiet the soul, excite the mind and fill the heart.
Between each course, we were treated to a wonderful selection of songs from Handel, Mozart, Bizet, Puccini, Lakme, Bellini and a very well-orchestrated and amusing Rossini’s Cat duet.
Entertaining us on the night, were friends of Tom’s, Soprano Colleen Brown and Mezzo- Soprano Rowena Burton. They have just launched as a vocal duo, under the name Arioso, and our Opera Evening was the first event they have performed. They were brilliant, very well accompanied by Mike Nicholas on the piano, and we can say that they truly did “sing for their supper”!
Circa 30 Brothers and ladies from Harrogate Circle have just enjoyed a very interesting afternoon visiting one of the oldest country houses in England, Allerton Castle, which is located midway between Harrogate and York.
Mentioned in the Domesday Book, the Allerton Park Estate surrounds the village of Allerton Mauleverer and, for over 600 years it was the family seat of the ancient family of Mauleverer, the founder of which was William Mauleverer who came to England with William the Conqueror. As a reward for his services, he received the lands around Allerton. His name was to be found amongst the list of warriors to be seen for centuries in Battle Abbey.
In 1649 Sir Thomas Mauleverer was one of the judges at the trial of Charles I and signatory to his death warrant. He fortunately died in 1655 before the restoration of the monarchy, thus avoiding execution with the other signatories of the death warrant, under the Act of Oblivion. In 1786, Prince Frederick, Duke of York, second son of George III and brother of George IV bought the house and employed Henry Holland in 1788 to remodel the interior, but sold the estate to Thomas Thornton shortly afterwards in 1789.
The Duke may also have constructed the Temple of Victory, which is today visible from the A1 on a 200-foot (61 m) high hill. According to local legend, the ant-like activity of workers constantly ascending and descending to build this gigantic mound inspired the famous nursery rhyme concerning The Grand Old Duke of York and his 10,000 men. In its time, Allerton Castle has seen many uses, from a Benedictine Priory on the estate, to an officers rehabilitation hospital in the great war and the headquarters of No. 6 Group, Royal Canadian Air Force in the second world war.
In 1983, Dr Gerald Arthur Rolph, an American philanthropist purchased the castle with 1.5 Hectares of land. The building was in a state of disrepair and in need of substantial roof and structural repair. In 1986, Dr Rolph founded the Gerald Arthur Rolph Foundation for Historic Preservation and Education to preserve Allerton Park for English and World Heritage. On the 21st/22nd January 2005, when much of the restoration work had been undertaken, a massive fire destroyed one third of the castle. Although much of the restoration work had to start again, Dr Rolph’s commitment was total and now he has gifted Allerton Castle, its contents, grounds and estate to the UK charity the Gerald Arthur Rolph Foundation for Historic Preservation and Education. There are two churches, the Church of St Martins, which is no longer owned by the Castle, and the chapel, which is attached to the castle and was constructed by the Stourton family, who were staunch Catholics.
Part way through our tour, an elderly gentleman joined us and our guide, who had just mentioned that Dr Rolph was 91, having treatment in America and wasn't expected back in the UK, was completely taken aback and introduced this gentleman as Dr Rolph. Apparently, he arrived back a couple of days prior and decided to surprise our Group by joining us. The chapel attached to the Castle is still a consecrated Catholic church and he has said that he would be happy for a Mass to be said. What a great afternoon. All in all a very interesting, enjoyable and beneficial occasion for Brother President Chris Bohills and his lady, Claire.
In July, four Harrogate Brothers celebrated their 40 year anniversaries and Province 3 Director and Harrogate Brother, John Tweddle, was on hand to present three of the Brothers with their anniversary scrolls, with a personal presentation to be made to Brother Barry Austin, who couldn’t attend on the evening. Brother President, Chris Bohills also presented a second Presidential bar to Brother Simon Gilbert following his third term as Harrogate President in 2020/22. In addition, John Tolan, John Tevlin and Simon Gilbert were presented with their 40-year miniatures.
John joined Middlesborough Circle and transferred to Harrogate in May 1986 moving to Galphay where he and Wendy still live. I think it is fair to say that they are both isle-ophiles and spend or spent a lot of time on the Scottish Island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides. This, together with John’s work which resulted in a lot of travel, means we haven’t seen too much of them over the years. But his strong faith and loyalty to Catenians has sustained his membership now for 40 years.
Terry joined Bradford Circle where he was active member of the Circle becoming vice President in 1991/92 before going on to be President in 1992-93. Terry is a former Provincial Secretary and Provincial President, as he served on Provincial Council 3 North before becoming Provincial President in 2001. Terry transferred to Harrogate in February 2012 remaining a joint member of Bradford Circle. Throughout his Catenian career Terry has always been a keen golfer and a member of Northcliffe Golf Club, Shipley where he served as club President.
Vince joined Harrogate Circle on 12 July 1983 and has remained a loyal and active member now for nearly 40 years. We say nearly, because it was actually Vince’s anniversary the day after the presentation. Vince also served as circle vice President in 1991-92 going on to be Circle President in 1992-93 which means that Vince and Kay must have enjoyed good Catenian company with Terry and Agnes on many occasions during their shared year as Presidents. At the time of joining Harrogate Vince described his profession as an Oil Executive, he worked for Shell UK, but by the time Bro. John Tweddle transferred into Harrogate he recalled that Vince’s occupation was described in the Directory, as it still is today, as traveller. Vince and Kay have been avid travellers over the years and have some enchanting stories to tell if you have the time.
Barry enrolled in Wakefield Circle in 1982 and immediately became actively involved with Circle life. Business commitments meant that taking office was not practical, but he made up for it in other ways. Apart from having a successful and very busy business life, in wholesaling, Barry also had a love of the turf and became an investor in our four-legged friends. He has owned a stake in several racehorses, or, as he puts it, he’s owned a leg or two. On the back of this, he has travelled all over the world following his hobby, to France, the USA and Hong Kong, amongst others, and met some very interesting people along the way. Barry transferred into Harrogate some years ago and immediately joined in with all activities, including the annual beer tasting trips, aka. Ales in the Vales, Ales in the Dales and Ales on the Rails. A true Catenian spirit.